Roadwork ahead for next decade
By Cathy Locke -- Bee Staff Writer
Motorists can expect plenty of construction along Highway 50 and western El Dorado County interchanges in the coming decade, as transportation officials work to ease traffic flow along some of the most congested sections of the heavily traveled route."We're finding ourselves with a lot of work to do on these interchanges all along the Highway 50 corridor, and now is the time to do it," said ...
Nine interchanges exist between the El Dorado-Sacramento County line and Placerville, and improvements are planned for seven of them, ...
... the El Dorado County Transportation Commission, the state Department of Transportation and the cities of Folsom and Rancho Cordova, are developing a strategic plan for the stretch of freeway between Ponderosa Road in El Dorado County and Mather Field Road in Sacramento County, he said. The goal is to determine the improvements needed to serve projected growth in El Dorado County.
... According to the staff member report, the interchange projects likely will be undertaken in increments from 2010 to 2015.
... Art Marinaccio of Shingle Springs said, "It is critically important that we spend a little more mental effort on parallel capacity."
... County Auditor-Controller Joe Harn said Saratoga Way in El Dorado Hills should be extended to Folsom before work begins on the Highway 50 bridge over El Dorado Hills Boulevard. "I really think it's going to be a mess till we connect Saratoga to Iron Point," he said.
Supervisor Rusty Dupray told the board Tuesday that Folsom city officials have said that they are prepared to complete the connection to Iron Point Road as soon as Saratoga Way is extended to the county line.
Supervisor Jack Sweeney said the county needs to take a look at its priority list and funding sources to make sure they coincide.
Transportation Director Richard Shepard said he will present the board with a five-year capital improvement program by the first of the year.
